Select Committee
Parliament

Pete Wishart draws the prime minister's attention to "real anger" felt by fishing communities at the news that the UK will not regain full control of its waters on Brexit day.

He asks for assurance that fisheries will not be traded for other aspects of an agreement.

Mrs May says she understands the concerns raised that this sector could be used as a "bargaining chip" but promises to approach the issue "in a different way".

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

SNP MP and Scottish Affairs Committee chair Pete Wishart says the way the government has tried to resolve devolution issues arising from the EU Withdrawal Bill is "contrary to everything devolution is about".

Theresa May says the priority is to maintain the integrity of UK the internal market and find the "right solution" for this. She says she thinks there is "genuine intent" to resolve this.

Mr Wishart asks if the government is ruling out the principle of consent, and if it will be overruling continuity bills passed in Wales and Scotland.

Mrs May says the "answer should be in coming to an agreement", and in her view it wasn't necessary for continuity bills to be passed.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

International Development Committee Chair Stephen Twigg asks if the government will speak with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina about the ongoing Rohingya crisis.

Mrs May says that the Foreign Office and Department for International Development have been speaking with the prime minister of Bangladesh.

Mr Twigg says that ensuring the money is there to continue the humanitarian effort is very important and he asks how the government can ensure it will continue.

Mrs May says the government has "consistently raised this" at the United Nations,the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.

Mr Twigg tells her that MPs on his committee were not granted visas to enter Myanmar and he wonders if representations can be made about that.

Mrs May replies that it's mild to say it was "disappointing" to see that visas were not granted in this case. She says it is right that the government continues to work to make sure the plight of the Rohingya people are not forgotten.

Select Committee
Parliament

Under further questioning from Yvette Cooper, Theresa May says she has not seen evidence of interference in UK elections from Russia.

She says "I don't personally go looking for evidence" but that evidence would be presented to her, and it has not been.

"The issue of ensuring elections are properly free and fair is taken very seriously," she stresses, and "work was done to ensure the fairness and security of our election".

She observes she's "not complacent" on this matter.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Collins goes on to ask if Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg should appear before his committee to give evidence on the 50 million accounts that have been subject to an alleged data breach.

Mrs May says she hopes that Facebook and Cambridge Analytica comply fully with the Information Commissioner.

And she hopes Mr Zuckerberg understands why these issues are so important to so many people but she says it is up to him to decide whether to appear in Parliament.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Damian Collins asks if Mrs May agrees with Robert Mueller that the Internet Research Agency in St Petersburg is funded by the Russian government through private channels.

Mrs May says that we are all waiting for the outcome of the Russia investigation in the United States.

Mr Collins says that the US Senate Intelligence Committee and various universities have identified 400 Russian bots which were active during the Brexit referendum period. He asks if the government will investigate this kind of activity during the referendum.

Mrs May says it is a matter of concern and the government has seen Russian involvement in other democratic processes.

She says that "to date" the government has not seen successful interference in UK processes.

Mr Collins says that the Information Commissioner has said that the Data Protection Bill should enable the commissioner to enter an office and seize data where required.

Mrs May states that it is important that the commissioner can investigate where necessary.

The government has looked at increasing the powers of the IC, but recent events have highlighted those concerns, she adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

Julian Lewis puts it to the PM that defence spending is "inadequate" and "major further cuts" are being considered at a time of new threats.

Mrs May responds that the national security capability review was conducted to ensure the armed forces "do have what they need against a background of varied threats" and the need to make sure they are "sustainable and affordable".

Dr Lewis says it could leave "a gaping black hole", with essential capabilities endangered by the need to meet new threats.

Mrs May reiterates that it's about looking at defence capabilities "in the round".

Select Committee
Parliament

Defence Committee chair, Conservative Julian Lewis, asks the PM to reinstate a £25m grant to BBC Monitoring as there is now a "premium" on this service in the light of worsening relations with Russia.

Theresa May says she wants to ensure the "sound journalism of the BBC can be available to Russian speakers" and discussions between the Foreign Office and the BBC are taking place.

House of Commons
Parliament

The debate concludes with a speech from the Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith, who says she will not be commenting on the allegations as they are being investigated by the Electoral Commission.

But she defends the electoral system, calling it "clear and robust".

As for the referendum, she says the Electoral Commission concluded that it was a "well-run poll".

Allegations of a breach in the law are "a cause for concern", she says, but that "doesn't mean the rules themselves were flawed".

She adds: "It wouldn't be right to jump to conclusions."

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Home Affairs Committee Chair Yvette Cooper is asking about the "tier 1 investor visa" for people who wish to invest at last £2m in the UK.

She asks if a retrospective examination is being carried out of the 700 Russians who have been granted visas under the scheme.

Mrs May says that the Home Secretary is currently undertaking a review of the tier 1 investor visa.

Ms Cooper asks, again, those 700 cases between 2008-2015 are being reviewed.

Mrs May says that the Home Office is looking at the system which delivered those decisions, rather than the individuals in the cases themselves.

Ms Cooper says that if there are questions around the legality of the money attached to those visas it could be too late, as some of those individuals will now have indefinite leave to remain.

Mrs May says she can ask the Home Office to provide an update on its investigations.

Select Committee
Parliament

Tom Tugendhat stresses "we are dealing with threats to international rules-based order" and says we should be targeting that through tougher action against Russian "kleptocrats".

Mrs May replies that she's acted to crack down on illicit financing including through the Joint Money-Laundering Taskforce and unexplained wealth orders.

She says a UK version of the Magnitsky Act will further that.

House of Commons
Parliament

Jon Trickett, the shadow Cabinet Office minister pays tribute to journalists and whistle-blowers for bringing the allegations to public attention.

He says it "demeans our politics by insinuating a malicious personal motive on the part of the whistle-blowers" adding that it is "shameful" that those insinuations emerged from Downing Street.

He think whistleblower Shahmir Sammi has been "treated unfairly in a way that is absolutely disgraceful".

he concludes that if the allegations are true "they amount to a serious breach".

Select Committee
Parliament

Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Conservative Tom Tugendhat, welcomes the PM's actions against Russia but says "surely we can do more to tackle sanctions-busting".

Theresa May tells the committee a further seven countries have now expelled Russian diplomats, bringing the total to 25, and the government is "fully committed to imposing sanctions".

Select Committee
Parliament

Theresa May is giving evidence to the Liaison Committee, which is made up of the following committee chairs:

Dr Sarah Wollaston , external(Chair)Conservative

Sir Kevin Barron , externalLabour

Hilary Benn , externalLabour

Sir Paul Beresford , externalConservative

Mr Clive Betts , externalLabour

Chris Bryant , externalLabour

Sir William Cash , externalConservative

Damian Collins , externalConservative

Yvette Cooper , externalLabour

Mary Creagh , externalLabour

David T. C. Davies , externalConservative

Frank Field , externalLabour

Lilian Greenwood , externalLabour

Robert Halfon , externalConservative

Ms Harriet Harman , externalLabour

Meg Hillier , externalLabour (Co-op)

Mr Bernard Jenkin , externalConservative

Helen Jones , externalLabour

Norman Lamb , externalLiberal Democrat

Dr Julian Lewis , externalConservative

Angus Brendan MacNeil , externalScottish National Party

Stephen McPartland , externalConservative

Ian Mearns , externalLabour

Mrs Maria Miller , externalConservative

N, externalicky Morgan , externalConservative

Dr Andrew Murrison , externalConservative

Robert Neill , externalConservative

Neil Parish , externalConservative

Rachel Reeves , externalLabour

Tom Tugendhat , externalConservative

Derek Twigg , externalLabour

Stephen Twigg , externalLabour (Co-op)

Mr Charles Walker , externalConservative

Bill Wiggin , externalConservative

Pete Wishart , externalScottish National Party

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The SNP's Tommy Sheppard says that he agrees with Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, who thinks that if the Electoral Commission cannot come to a conclusion on these allegations, then the laws which underpin the commission are not strong enough.

He says that no-one can afford "not to be moved by the decency, bravery and intent" of whistle-blower Shahmir Sanni.

He he says it may be the first ever time that a British government has used outing an individual as gay in order to try and undermine them. In this case, it could cause him or his family harm, he adds.

He says that at the very least, the UK government should apologise to Mr Sanni.

"Even if the regulations have been breached, this is not going to change the result of the referendum," he states.

House of Commons
Parliament

The Liberal Democrat Sir Ed Davey is bemoaning the fact that there have been no speeches from Conservative MPs.

Several Conservative have intervened on speeches made by Opposition MPs but, as yet, no Conservative MPs have made a speech.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas says the issues at stake go "much deeper and much wider" than just what happened during the EU referendum.

Current electoral law is "woefully inadequate", she tells MPs.

She adds that a combination of "big money" and "big data" is "overwhelming the chronically weak structures which are supposed to protect us against cheating and fraud".

She calls for a "reprogramming" in the way parties and campaigns are funded, adding that the case for state funding of parties "could scarcely get any stronger".

She also urges an "independent public inquiry" into whether Vote Leave or BeLeave broke electoral law.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers are debating three bills relating to Northern Ireland designed to address the ongoing absence of an executive at Stormont.

They are:

• Northern (Regional Rates and Energy) Bill, which enables the collection of regional domestic and non-domestic rates and provides continued legislative authority for the Renewable Heat Incentive
• Northern Ireland Assembly Members (Pay) Bill, which grants the power to vary pay and allowances for Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and will be used to block a scheduled pay rise
• Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) Bill, which allows in-year adjustments to Northern Ireland departmental budgets.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale speaks against the resolution on the grounds it encourages peers to live in London.

But in the end it's approved without a vote, raising their allowance for attendance from £300 to £305 (lower rate from £150 to £153) and providing for future uprating in line with MPs.